{"id":739,"date":"2015-08-11T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-11T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/161.35.63.92\/index.php\/2015\/08\/11\/intentional-branding\/"},"modified":"2022-06-13T18:08:54","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T23:08:54","slug":"intentional-branding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/intentional-branding\/","title":{"rendered":"Intentional Branding"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve written before<\/a> on the importance of a brand<\/a> in the marketing scheme of a self-published author. That post is still a good primer for the bare basic concepts of branding. It\u2019s full of good advice that boils down to \u201cmake conscious choices about your brand and then implement them in ways that are true to the brand.\u201d Or, to put it shorter, make your branding intentional. Intentional branding is the key.<\/p>\n

Now many of you may be staring at your screens and wondering what I mean by that. I will happily explain it to you, but it\u2019s a complicated job and I may not be up to the challenge alone.<\/p>\n

In fact, this looks like a job\u2026for Superman!<\/p>\n

Intentional Iconography<\/h2>\n

That\u2019s right, I said it looks like a job for Superman, but put that aside for the moment.<\/p>\n

The honest truth is, I spend a lot of time thinking about superheroes. A LOT of time. One thing you can always say about proper superheroes (and most of the villains for that matter) is that they\u2019re built on extremely clear and striking visual iconography. That might sound complicated, but it\u2019s not as bad as it seems.<\/p>\n

Iconography is simply visual signifiers used with purpose to communicate a message. Put a red cross or a caduceus (even if people don\u2019t know what that is) on a building, and people will take their sick there. Put a red circle with a diagonal line through the center over anything, and you know not to do that thing. That\u2019s iconography.<\/p>\n

And Superman can help us see how important choices about iconography can be, even extremely subtle ones.<\/p>\n

A Super Example of Intentional Iconography<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start by taking a look at Superman for a second.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get the most obvious out of the way. That S on his chest stands for Superman and everybody in the world knows it. Think of that like your Nike swoosh. The color scheme is also a dead giveaway. Superman wears primary red and blue with some accents in yellow. Think of that like your bright red Coca-Cola can and white curlicue writing. But let\u2019s dig a little deeper.<\/p>\n

Take a look at Superman\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n

\"Justice<\/p>\n

Right there in the center of his forehead, there\u2019s a distinctive spit curl. Look closely, and you might notice that it resembles an S. You know, like the one on his chest. The one that stands for Superman. Even in a veritable sea of Caucasian, black-haired, blue-eyed superheroes, if there\u2019s a close-up of this man\u2019s face, the hair will tell you who it is.<\/p>\n

Now for the cape.<\/p>\n

\"When<\/p>\n

Do you know why superhero books are often called cape comics even though the majority of superheroes don\u2019t wear them? Because the first superhero had a cape. That\u2019s powerful branding.<\/p>\n

But you\u2019ll also note that the cape has that same familiar logo. It\u2019s used a little differently but still fits into the overall color scheme of the brand. Even at a distance and from behind, you\u2019ll recognize that guy.<\/p>\n

Okay, but what about the boots?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you look closely and use your imagination just a tiny bit, you can see that the top of Superman\u2019s boots make an M. He has an S(uper) on his forehead and an M(an) on his boots. Superman is literally branded from head to toe.<\/p>\n

Some of these visual signifiers are incredibly obvious and some are powerfully subtle. But all together, they create an iconography for one of the most recognized brands on the planet. Even when he\u2019s standing in a group of similarly visually striking individuals with their own instantly recognizable brands. That\u2019s pretty impressive, and shows a detailed and intentional approach to branding.<\/p>\n

Talk the Talk<\/h2>\n

The visual is usually the most important aspect of the brand since saying a lot without actually saying anything is pretty powerful stuff. But there\u2019s more to a brand than the look, and we can turn to Superman again for some examples.<\/p>\n

Did all of you know that Superman \u201cfights a never-ending battle?\u201d Did you know he stands for \u201ctruth, justice, and the American Way?\u201d Did you know that he does so \u201cwith powers and abilities far beyond mortal men?\u201d If I told you to \u201cLook! Up in the sky!\u201d you\u2019d almost certainly suggest \u201cIt\u2019s a bird! It\u2019s a plane! No, it\u2019s Superman!\u201d<\/p>\n

Just in case you\u2019ve never heard any of that, you can certainly see that Coke has spent a lot of time and money to make sure you \u201copen happiness.\u201d And that Nike wants you to \u201cjust do it.\u201d Or that KFC is \u201cfinger lickin\u2019 good.\u201d Volkswagen wants you to \u201cthink small.\u201d Energizer \u201ckeeps going and going and going.\u201d Calgon wants to \u201ctake you away.\u201d Draft2Digital wants you to \u201cself-publish with support.\u201d<\/p>\n

These small capsules of words contain a million ideas and associations that all tie back to the brand. And each one is backed by tons of research and a host of creative minds. That\u2019s branding with intent.<\/p>\n

Examples into Reality<\/h2>\n

Superman is a great example of intentional and focused branding. Should you expect your own brand to be that on-point immediately? Of course not. Superman\u2019s owners have had 75+ years and spent billions of dollars (not to mention a strong dose of luck) to get to this point. But it should give you a sketch of how to intentionally approach your own branding in ways both great and small. We’ll spend the next couple of weeks taking a look at case studies of how others have intentionally branded…sometimes with terrible results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve written before on the importance of a brand in the marketing scheme of a self-published author. That post is still a good primer for the bare basic concepts of branding. It\u2019s full of good advice that boils down to \u201cmake conscious choices about your brand and then implement them in ways that are true […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":205758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[469],"tags":[321,347,386,385,138],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author-how","tag-author-branding","tag-author-strategy","tag-brand","tag-branding","tag-strategy"],"yoast_head":"\nIntentional Branding - Draft2Digital | Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We look at intentional branding through the scope of the Man of Steel, Superman!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/intentional-branding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Intentional Branding - 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